Gatherer of Secrets
by Eilike
Summary: Loki strikes a bargain, willfully putting Thor's new bag of marbles at stake. As things turn out, a malevolent spirit seems less trouble to deal with than an older brother and his friends bent on saving their possessions. But what do you do, if, 1,000 years later, the menace returns and claims its due, while you're trapped in a dungeon? (kid!Loki & kid!Thor)
1. The Monster at the Pond

Writing my fanfics in the Marvel universe "Songs to be Sung" and "Marvelous Jobs" I often thought about how it must have been like, Thor and Loki being kids together in Asgard. I included some ideas in my fanfics, but some were too complex to be used as a character's flashback or reminiscence. This is one of them. I have no idea, how many readers a _kid!_Loki /_ kid!_Thor story will attract. But I'm curious to find out. :)

(I'm sorry for all the Hogun fans out there, but he will only have the shortest appearance. It's a detail I did not check with Marvel archives, but somehow, I feel he came to Asgard and joined the Warriors Three at a later century.)

The frame story is set after "The Avengers" and some time before the main story line of "Thor II".

Feel free to review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Thor, Loki, Fandral, Volstagg, Sif, Frigga and Odin Allfather, I hold no rights to the Marvel characterizations. This is done for fun and love of the movies, and I do not make money out of it.

* * *

**+++ Chapter 1: The Monster at the Pond+++**

**(**###** Asgard, 2012 **###** )**

'Thor would visit you, I'm sure he would,' Frigga told Loki. 'But there are skirmishes at Asgard's borders and conflicts in the allied realms, he is called away so often...'

'A busy heir to the throne, of course. Who could expect him to think of his rogue brother?' Loki paced a few steps, hands clasped loosely behind his back. A few steps. His prison in Asgard's dungeon did not allow for more. He encompassed the narrow confinements with one lavish movement of his hand: the cot, the small table, the armchair, the pile of books. 'How long has it been? Three months? Four? Four-hundred?'

'Loki...'

'You tell me. After all, you can at least count sunsets.' He had not meant his bitterness to show. But it seemed he could not contain himself. Sentenced to life in prison. A demi-god with millennia to look forward to.

'I visit you, Loki,' Frigga said sadly. 'Does that not mean anything to you?'

'It would,' Loki said. 'If only it were true.'

He returned to her and waved his hand right where she stood in his prison. The illusion dispelled. The sad, worried face was last to vanish. He could see her blink and come back to herself in her own chambers, in the royal wing of Asgard's fortress. They communicated through the fire she kept burning in the corner of her room.

'And when you are gone for good,' Loki whispered, 'who will remember me then?'

'I will,' a cheerful voice said. 'I've hardly thought of anything else in – how many years?'

Loki froze.

'Six hundred?' said the voice happily. 'Seven hundred forty-five? More? Or less?'

Somehow, Loki managed to inhale. 'That's not possible.'

'Why not? You're quite long-lived. I'm practically immortal.'

Loki looked about his prison. 'Where are you?'

'Well, what do you think? Under your cot, naturally.'

Loki crouched beside the cot and tried to penetrate the darkness underneath. It should not be possible to have such dark corners, not in this place. But magic had its own ways, and if his guest really was who Loki thought him to be...

'Used to be more comfortable, but who am I to complain?' the voice went on.

Loki arched a perfect eyebrow, 'Am I supposed to apologize for the inconvenience?'

'You are supposed to keep your promise. We have a bargain, you and I.'

'We were children,' Loki said dismissively.

'Not "we". You were. But you do remember, how it all started?'

Loki sat as far away from the cot as possible, just behind the energy grid that served as bars. The constant golden sparkle occupied his eyes, while his mind was busy condensing centuries until it seemed only yesterday... Aye, Loki remembered that day.

* * *

**(**###** Asgard, almost 1,000 years earlier **###**)**

Thor got a bag full of marbles. That was how it all started. A traveling salesman had come to Asgard, and, between a million wondrous things, he offered a bag full of glass marbles.

It was love at first sight for all boys, but especially for the sons of Odin.

They asked nicely. They begged. Thor threw a tantrum. Loki improvised a full dozen reasons, why every boy of one hundred and eight years should be entitled to call a bag of marbles his own...

But you needed forty-two marbles to play a decent game of "Catch the Wolf", and that was exactly the number the salesman had to offer.

So, Odin decided to make the matter into one of his dreaded "educational measures": He bought the marbles. And gave them to Thor. Admonishing his first-born to share with his little brother.

Loki wondered just how naive his father could get.

Thor promised. Of course, he did. He would have promised anything for the colorful, shining treasures rolling out of the bag and onto his palm. Already, he stared at them as if hypnotized by their gleaming beauty. Loki's desperate attempt to lay down his co-owners rights went unheeded. Or rather, he was out-volumed by the other boys, Volstagg and Fandral.

'Let's go play,' Fandral shouted.

'In the court?' asked Volstagg.

'Let's go to the bathing pond Fandral discovered and play there,' Thor said.

Fandral and Volstagg agreed noisily.

'I don't want to play at the pond,' Loki said softly and unheeded.

'Poor Loki.' Sif slid up beside the unhappy prince. 'You don't like swimming, do you?'

'That's not the point,' Loki said, scowling at the boys gathering round Thor to show their due admiration to the wonderful marbles. 'But there's no shade at that pond. I don't feel comfortable, if there's no shade.'

'You're just not used to it,' the young valkyre said. 'You spend too much time indoors.'

'Mostly because I don't like it outside.'

Sif regarded him with a curious look, 'You're a strange one, indeed, Loki. How can one not like the sun?'

'I like the sun,' Loki insisted. 'It's just – oh well, forget it. You don't understand.'

'Well, then we both have a secret,' Sif said. 'You don't like the sun, and I consider playing marbles tedious. Especially a boring game like "Catch the Wolf".'

'Tedious?' Fandral called to them. 'Sif, what's possibly boring about "Catch the Wolf"?'

'I usually win.' Sif put on a cool smile, the kind of smile that impressed Thor the most. She joined the boys on their way to the stables.

Loki trudged behind, still not convinced he was doing the intelligent thing, yet unwilling to leave his co-owned treasures with his brother and the other kids. There was one advantage in being the last to reach the stables: The others had his horse saddled up and ready by the time he got there.

* * *

Fandral had discovered their new bathing pond only a fortnight ago. But it had quickly advanced to be the childrens' favorite place for spending the hot Asgardian summer afternoons. The water was cool, clear and sufficiently deep, but with very few water lilies and no sea weeds to get caught up in. Reeds grew at the shores, but there were spots with sand or polished black stone that offered easy access to the water. The sun glittered like billions of tiny diamonds on the surface as the boys splashed into the water. Sif followed at a slower pace. Being a girl, she should not come here to swim with the boys in the first place. While she had decided not to care about the basic decency issue, she was usually hesitant to take off more than the upper layer of clothing and was fastidious about securing the rest.

As a result, the soaked fabric of her underskirt stuck to her body "like a wet sheep", as Fandral gallantly put it. But even that did not stop her from displaying the same odd behavior time and again.

By the time, everyone was in the water, Thor had already challenged Volstagg to a diving contest and was winning. The blonde prince was good at swimming, but then again, he was good at everything requiring physical fitness.

Fandral discovered a turtle that had been slow in retreating to safety and started throwing the poor beast around.

'Maybe you'd rather want to use this.' Sif handed him a round, straw-stuffed ball.

'What's that?'

'The head of the dummy the warriors use for joust training. A scare-crow would've done, too. But we came past this one first.'

'Sif! Over here!' Thor waved at her to throw him the makeshift ball.

Loki, like the others, engaged himself in the ensuing battle, and he enjoyed it. He was no less skilled than his peers after all; he was nimble, strong and fast like them (with even a clear tendency to outperform them in terms of speed and agility, once adolescence had levelled the few physical differences still brought about by the age gap).

But people usually compared him to his brother, so he was often considered less effective and daring than he actually was.

And of course, there was the problem with the temperature.

Loki never felt comfortable during summer. Seeing the bright sunshine dance on the rippling waves was enough to affect him with an oppressive sensation of being too warm. It tired him like he was actually down with a fever that sapped the strength from his limbs, and he was the first to return to shore. Where they had left their clothes and provisions, he sat in the sand and took a couple of marbles from the pouch, choosing them for being of about the same size and weight. He started circling them on his palm, trying to pass them on by curling and relaxing his fingers in a steady pattern. The salesman had done so at dizzying speed, and Loki was prepared to learn –

'These are pretty glass marbles you got there,' someone said. It was a gentle and pleasant voice, and it seemed to resound in Loki's head.

'They are my brother's,' Loki said, without looking up. 'Who are you?'

'I am a spirit. This lake is my realm.'

Loki could sense the presence now, with his "magical perception", as his teacher called it. It felt like a tickle, a small tension gathering in the spot just below your sternum, where you felt the joyous anticipation of a promised gift. Or the anxiety as you followed your adventurous brother down into the dark catacombs beneath Asgard's brightly lit halls...

_Thor, the reckless nincompoop..._

'Well, well,' the spirit said. 'I take it you're a magician?'

'And you're not particularly hospitable,' Loki said. 'You might care to grow one or two trees on your shores. A little shade would improve this place greatly, if you ask me.'

'Your friends don't complain,' the spirit said. Loki looked over to the frolicking boys and Sif, who was boldly trying to keep up while being nearly drowned by her soaked undergarments.

'A prince of Asgard does not complain,' he said. 'Consider it a suggestion.'

'Let me make a suggestion of my own, then. These are pretty glass marbles you got there. Give them to me, and you'll receive something even prettier in return.'

Loki guffawed haughtily, 'What could you possibly have to give that I cannot already have for free? Sunlight in abundance? Water? A breeze rustling the reeds? Mosquitos and leeches?'

'Secrets,' the spirit said. 'I have secrets to share, young magician. You don't exist since times unimaginable without learning a thing or two from the rustling reeds and the buzz of the mosquitos. I could share one of these things with you; these marbles are so very pretty...'

'I already told you. They belong to my brother.'

'That is just the reason why you want to give them away so badly. And you don't care whether you get punished for it, whether Thor is mad at you – '

'How do you know his name?'

The spirit made a sound like small bubbles popping at the surface of the water in a swampy place. Loki assumed the thing was laughing.

'Just one of the things the bittern already whispered to me. I hoard what I can learn from others, in all ways available: Things that scare them. Things they would not know or care to know about themselves. I make them face the reflection in the mirror they would rather shatter than recognize as their own. It is what I do. I am a malicious spirit. My beauty is make-belief. I dwell at the heart of the illusion. Do you know what I mean?'

'Not really. What happens, if someone fills up your lake?'

'No one fills up my lake. I can make it seem like the most beautiful spot you've ever been. You feel no wish to destroy such beauty. I am a _locus amoenus_.'

Loki stored the name for later research. 'What if you leave, and then someone fills up your lake?'

'Your friends could no longer take a bath, and wouldn't that be a pity? They are so very happy. - What about the secret, boy?'

'One for each marble,' Loki said, turning his mind from curious inquiry to business.

'One. For the entire bag.'

'Let's hear your story,' Loki demanded. 'So I can know, whether it's worth the price.'

'Oh, you're a tough negotiator.' The spirit gave his bubbling laugh again. 'Very well. You see this little fly on the blade of grass before you?'

'What about it?' Making it a point not to seem too interested, Loki studied the insect. It was thin and fragile, and its silvery body ended in a filigrane, forked tail.

'It's a mayfly. Their larvae live in the water. The summer sun kisses them awake. Thousands of them will hatch on one beautiful morning. They fly over the water surface and in the reeds, all sunny day long. But do you know, what they will do at nightfall?'

'Go to sleep?'

Again that sound of popping swamp bubbles. 'They die. With the last light of day they fly out, over the pond. Then, they spread their wings, and they let themselves sink into the water. Can you imagine why?'

Loki played his card, 'They cannot take in food. They no longer have a mouth, after they are hatched as adults. Seeking a quick death by the mouths of the fish is most likely preferable over starving.' He curled his lips, disdainfully. 'I read that in a book of mine. That's what you call a secret?'

'I do, because your book knows only half the truth,' the locus amoenus said. 'The mayflies die, because in the course of this one day they have come to believe they have seen it all. Everything there is to see and to experience. They know the pond, and they think they know the world.'

'Pretty stupid beasts, aren't they?' Loki said, bored.

'Some Asgardians think just that,' the spirit said. 'They are not likely to die of it, of course; they are no flies. But they are just as incapable of realizing that the world they live in is but a part of something so much greater.'

Loki narrowed his eyes and frowned, 'So what's that "secret" supposed to teach me?'

'Who can know for sure? Maybe, there's no moral in it for you at all. Then again, one day you might find yourself faced with the decision of jumping off the Bifrost or climbing back to safe ground. Maybe you'll remember that there's a lot more to see and to experience, beyond the limits of the nine realms. And you'll make your choice. - What about the marbles?'

'I don't know,' said Loki. 'I wanted to hear a secret, not an advice.'

'You see that little bird over there?'

'Reed warbler,' Loki said without interest.

'There's a young cuckoo in his nest. The reed warbler knows it's not his child, but he still feeds it. Do you know, why he doesn't throw the stranger out of the nest, like the cuckoo threw out and killed its foster brothers?'

'Tell me,' Loki said. 'I assume that's the secret.'

'The reed warbler loves his children. But his wife feels sorry for the cuckoo.'

Loki frowned, thinking hard. Finally, he shook his head lightly and said, 'I don't understand.'

'I didn't claim you would. Not at once, anyway. – Those were two secrets told. What about the marbles, boy?'

'Oh, well. It was not as good as I expected. But entertaining enough.' Loki emptied the pouch into his hand. _One last look at the treasures that should have been his and were given to Thor..._

'Loki? Whom are you talking to?' Thor waded out of the water and covered the distance at a trot. He left a dark trail of water on the dark stones he had to cross. 'What are you doing with our marbles?'

'Loki? Can I play, too?' asked Fandral. Volstagg was helping Sif with the weight of her wet clothes, so these two were a little slower to follow.

'Your cheeks are all flushed.' Thor knelt in front of his brother. 'Are you alright?'

Loki stared at the marbles in his hand. Suddenly, the colors swam before his eyes, and the whole conversation with the spirit seemed weird and fleeting like a dream at waking. 'Yes – no.' He looked at Thor, his eyes huge and blank, his lips slightly trembling. 'I just don't understand - what the cuckoo's got to do with me?'

'What cuckoo?' Thor put his hand to Loki's brow. 'But - you're burning. Loki? What is it?' Startled, the blonde boy watched a shiver run through his brother's frame at the cool touch of his hand. Loki's eyelids quivered, then he suddenly sagged forward. The marbles rolled in the sand.

Thor caught his brother by the shoulders and shook him, 'Loki? Are you alright?'

'I think he's passed out,' said Fandral, craning his neck to get a glimpse of Loki's face.

'But he was fine only ten minutes ago.' Thor tried hard not to show his fear, but it was unmistakably there, in his blue eyes, as he looked up at his friends.

'Too much sun,' Sif said reasonably. 'He told me before we took off he'd feel uncomfortable without shelter.'

'Out of the way.' Volstagg carried a soggy shirt and wrung it over Loki. Thor turned his head to avoid getting splashed.

The boy in his arms stirred sluggishly and looked about blearily, 'Thor?'

'I am here, Loki. I've got you.' Thor hugged his brother close.

'I'm sorry,' Loki mumbled. 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry...'

'No reason to apologize,' Thor assured him eagerly. _Boy, he was so glad, Loki was awake._ 'Can you get up? We've got to take you to Eir.'

The goddess of healing had her domicile at the foot of Asgard's castle, easy to access for people of the city as well as the inhabitants of the king's stronghold. For a band of children finding themselves in the wild outside Asgard's gates, getting there still presented a challenge.

'Let's give him a drink, first.' Sif removed the stopper from a waterskin. 'Here, Loki. It will make you feel better.' She went to one knee beside Thor and supported Loki's head with one hand. With her help, he drank greedily and without spilling anything.

'Thanks,' said Thor, feeling a warm wave of gratitude - and the tiniest pang of jealousy. 'Where did you learn how to do that?'

Sif shrugged her shoulders, flattered by his appraisal but not prepared to show it. 'Valkyres need to know. It's our job to ride over the battle fields and bring refreshments to the warriors on the brink of death that Odin Allfather appointed to be taken to Valhall.'

'Loki is not "on the brink of death"!' Thor shouted.

'Nor am I going to take him to Valhall.' Sif put the stopper back in place. 'Eir's place it is. I'll get the horses.'

Volstagg and Fandral helped Loki climb to his feet. But he showed little interest in standing on his own. They had to support him, waiting for Sif to bring their mounts.

'Thor? You coming?' she called.

'Just a moment.' Thor searched the sandy ground. 'I'm missing three marbles.'

'Look for them later, will you?' Fandral had trouble holding Loki's weight. 'We could do with some help over here.'

'Fandral, you numbskull. That's not how it's done.' Thor came over. 'Watch me. His arm on your shoulder, like this. Now you can put another arm around here, and then – oh. Oops!'

'Easy!' warned Fandral.

'Can you, _please_, just take me home?' begged Loki. 'No lessons, no adventures? I really don't feel good...'

'Sure thing, brother. All we need to do is - oh.'

Caught out of their depth, Asgard's heir to the throne and his trusted comrades stood before the towering horses. And realized...

'How – how are we going to get him up there?' asked Fandral.

Everyone waited for a good, practical plan to be voiced. Something to do with skillfully folded hands, leverage and, possibly, creative utilization of Sif's whalebone underware. Then, they remembered that those plans usually came from Loki – and _his mind_ right now was about as far from corset laces as Volstagg's from comb and brush.

Thor made a decision, 'Very well. Here, Fandral, hold him – ' he pushed his brother over to Fandral, who swayed under the transfered weight. 'I'm getting in the saddle. Fandral, you and Volstagg lift Loki up as far as you can – '

'Thor, there are mounted men over there,' said Sif. 'I think they are your father's guards returning from patroling the outer ranges.'

'We'll make this work,' Thor said confidently. 'I'm ready. Volstagg, Fandral, on my mark.'

'Thor, I'm serious,' Sif said over the groans of the hard-working boys. 'Those are grown-up men. They can lift Loki easily.'

'So can we.' Thor caught his brother by the back of his shirt. 'Put some heart into it, folks. You've got to push him over the saddle.'

'_You want him to puke on your horse?_' Sif shouted, knowing that her choice of words would get her the full attention of the boys. Thor let go and so did Fandral and Volstagg, remembering at the last moment to catch Loki and continue to support him. Suddenly, the buzz of the day flies and the song of the reed warbler seemed very loud in the silence.

'I don't want Loki to puke on my horse,' Thor finally said. 'Someone might think it was me.'

'So don't let him drain a full waterskin before placing him on his stomach upside down on a running horse,' Sif said sharply.

'Thor?' said Volstagg. 'I think the guards have spotted us. They're coming.'

'Way to go, Sif, alerting them with your shouting,' said Thor, annoyed. 'Listen up, everyone. I want to make it a point that we would've succeeded on our own... _somehow_...'

The boys nodded. Sif rolled her eyes. Loki had developed a hiccup and whimpered softly because every reflexive gasp gave him a sharp pain in the head.

The rider in front raised his hand in greeting, 'Hoy, Prince Thor! How fare you and your comrades?'

'My brother needs to see the healer.' Thor could see the alert in the five men's faces.

'What happened? Did he get thrown?' The guards stopped their horses. One man dismounted and hurried over to relieve Fandral and Volstagg of the prince's weight.

'He was affected by the heat.' Thor would say no more. Loki's weakness was his own, such was his idea of an older brother's loyalty.

'With your permission, Prince Thor, I would request the honor of taking Prince Loki to Eir,' the guard said. It was a diplomatic way of offering the prince a way out, which Thor gladly accepted.

'Sure,' he said with a shrug. 'Your steed is bigger and therefore runs probably faster than mine.'

'Like the wind, my lord,' the man promised. His comrade lifted Loki by the waist. The mounted guard grabbed the slender prince and pulled him across the saddle so that the boy's back rested against his arm and shoulder.

'Can you travel like that, my prince?' the guard asked. Loki nodded and hiccupped miserably.

The men's every move had been performed just as smoothly and effortlessly as Sif had said they would.

Thor avoided looking at her.

The guard made sure he had Loki in a secure grip. Then he set off at a gallop. His men gave chase, followed by Thor and Sif. Volstagg and Fandral tried in vain to keep up. Thor drove his horse as if his brother's life depended on him staying hot on his heels. Sif spurred her mare as if she was afraid to be unworthy of Thor's friendship if she fell back now.

They arrived only shortly after Loki's escort, and just in time to see their leader speak to Eir. The tall healer with the gray hair bun listened attentively, while Loki was lifted off the horse and carried inside by her assistant. The boy seemed to be unconscious, or very nearly so, again.

Thor threw Sif the reins and prepared to follow his brother inside. Eir's raised hand stopped him without actually touching him as he wanted to slip past her. 'I must ask you not to enter, Prince Thor. We have to take care of your brother first.'

'Take care of Loki?' Thor asked almost angrily. He was not used to being hindered from entering any room in this realm. And _no-one_ could keep him away from his brother, when Loki might be in trouble.

'He needs to rest, a darkened room and plenty to drink.'

'We already took care of that,' Thor pointed out. 'Sif gave him water.'

'Cold water. I know,' said Eir patiently. 'Remedying that will be... part of the treatment. But you can wait here, if you want.'

**+++ End of Chapter 1+++**


	2. The Monster under the Bed

Hi, everybody. Thanks to my readers and reviewers, and to you, Ribke D'Crazy and Beekee, for "liking". I did not plan to update so soon, but it's been a hard week and my friend Bibi expressed her wish that I go on with the funny stuff rather than finish my other story which can only end in desaster, as we all know... :)

Please R&R :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Thor, Loki, Fandral, Volstagg, Sif, Frigga and Odin Allfather, I hold no rights to the Marvel characterizations. This is done for fun and love of the movies, and I do not make money out of it.

* * *

**+++ Chapter 2: The Monster under the Bed+++**

**(**###** Asgard, almost 1,000 years ago**###**)**

It seemed like hours, before Eir returned to the waiting children. Sif had already left. Being a girl, she was not supposed to stay out long. Volstagg's family were very set in their way of having their meals together, and the boy's rumbling stomach annoyed Thor, so he sent away this friend, too. Thus, only Fandral remained – and him, Eir would not admit to visit her patient, 'Prince Loki needs to rest. We took him to his room. Prince Thor, you may go and talk to him now. But don't stay too long. I'll be with you in a second.'

Thor agreed, said good bye to Fandral and slipped past the healer into the infirmary.

It was a time of peace or at least truce with most realms and kingdoms, so there were no wounded occupying the long rows of beds to the left and right of the center aisle. There was only a handful of warriors that had been too careless during weapons training, a hunter who had come too close to the boar he'd been after, and a boy of about Thor's age squirming on his layer and hawking.

Thor crossed the infirmary quickly and exited through the back door leading into Asgard's stronghold. _Eir would follow him in a second?_ They would see about that. Thor knew shortcuts and jib doors that enabled him to reach the private quarters of the royal family in no time.

A little out of breath he knocked on Loki's door and entered without waiting for an answer.

His brother's room was dusky – the shutters were half closed. It was pleasantly cool, probably due to a spell. Loki was in his bed to the right of the door. He sat with his back propped up against a pile of cushions, dozing. As the door opened, he turned his head and looked toward his visitor. He seemed not exactly to brim over with vitality. But he no longer looked like he was about to pass out, either.

'I heard you coming from a mile away,' he told his brother instead of a greeting.

'That's because I was in a hurry,' Thor said. 'How are you?'

'Improved.'

'You look a little pale.' Thor moved to sit on the edge of Loki's bed.

'That's good to hear, I guess. Eir says I looked like a tomato when they lifted me off of that horse.'

'Now you listen carefully!' Thor reached out and ruffled his little brother's hair. 'You need to tell me, if something is amiss. While there's still time, I mean. Don't just pass out on me, ever again.'

Loki squinted his eyes shut and allowed himself to be tousled, 'I didn't want to spoil the fun for you and the others.'

'Now, that's like you.' Thor spotted a jug of water and fished for the cup beside it. 'Would you like some water? Eir says you should drink a lot.'

'Thor, I can hold the cup myself.'

'I'm sure you can. But you don't have to.' Thor scooted over and put his arm about Loki's shoulder.

Loki giggled. 'Don't, Thor. You don't know how – '

'Sure do.' Thor offered the cup to his brother. 'Open up.'

Loki only clenched his jaw more tightly. 'Mm-mmmh!'

'Your teeth are in the way.' Thor tapped the cup against his brother's lips. 'Open up, I say.'

Loki touched his hand to his lips, 'Ouch, Thor, are you trying to – '

'Ah-ha!' Thor slipped the rim of the cup in Loki's mouth. As he had seen with Sif, he carefully tilted the cup. Still giggling, Loki drank in small gulps.

'You've got to let him catch his breath every now and then,' said Eir who entered the room and took in the situation. Thor thought that it hadn't been a second, exactly, but she'd been pretty fast anyway. 'Especially when he's laughing while he drinks.'

'Because it will come out of his nose? He knows that. It's happened before.'

'I know a boy who used to push things up his nose and got them stuck there,' Eir said in her best "look-who's-talking" voice. 'Including a living beetle.'

'That was a wager with Volstagg,' Thor said, unfazed. 'What's that? Green Stuff?'

Eir nodded. There was no use in pointing out the potion's name to the boys. It was brightly green, that much was true. 'No nightmares for the young prince tonight.'

Loki's frequent nightmares were the foremost reason for him to be administered the sedating medicine. Thor knew it from the occasions when he was taken to the infirmary to get a dislocated arm set right or a broken leg splintered.

He hoped he did not smile as placidly and stupidly as his brother, when Loki handed back the empty goblet. Eir removed a couple of pillows, so Loki could lay down flat on his back. 'Is this convenient, Loki?'

By way of testing, Loki snuggled into the remaining pillows. 'Hm-hmm. Thank you, Eir.'

'Try getting a good night's sleep. You should feel better by sunrise. But don't get up on your own. Stay in bed, until I return, bringing breakfast. If you feel up to eating, you'll be back on your feet by midday.'

'And if he doesn't feel like eating?' Thor asked.

'In that case, he'll sleep some more,' Eir said. 'But I don't think that will be necessary. Your brother will be well again soon, Thor. Don't worry.'

'I don't,' Thor said. 'But I thought I might have his pancakes.'

'Mm-hmm.' Loki nodded contently.

'Are you all right?' Thor was perplexed. 'I'm pretty sure you didn't mean to agree to _that_.'

'Mmh-hmm, sure.' Again, Loki nodded peacefully and rolled over to lie on his side.

'Loki?' Thor's blue eyes lit up. 'Can I have your wooden toy knight? You know, the one with the real horse hair and the metal lance?'

'Mmh-hm- '

'This is as far as it goes, my prince!' Eir shooed Thor toward the door.

**+o+o+o+o+**

'_What about the marbles, boy?_'

'Wh- what?' Loki was startled from deep sleep. 'Who's there?'

'Your brother took them. We'll have to talk about another secret, you and I, now that I can probably write off my prize. This time, however, I'm going to learn something about you.'

Loki sat up and looked about: He was in his room, and it was dark outside. He remembered being taken here. He recalled hearing Eir's soft voice, feeling cool pillows, and drinking a potion that tasted awful but helped against the persistent hiccup and the pain in his stomach. So he could drink more potions that, subsequently, helped against all else.

Even, it seemed, against Thor become a pestering presence in his room.

'I did not promise you my toy knight, did I?' he asked into the dark. It was about the last thing he could remember: Thor asking for the toy, and somehow Loki had not felt like objecting...

'No. Our deal was that I should have the marbles.'

Loki jumped as his memory suddenly came back to him. 'The locus amoenus? What are you doing here?'

'I am lurking under your bed,' the voice said.

'_What?!_' Loki sat ramrod straight and hardly dared to breathe. 'But – you belong with your pond. The may flies. The cuckoo.'

'They are still there, of course. But there are secrets to be revealed right here, in the royal wing of Asgard's stronghold, too. Which are you going to tell me, young magician?'

'I don't know of any secrets,' Loki claimed, and although that was not entirely true, of course, he nevertheless was truly puzzled what the spirit could possibly be aiming at.

'Well, then go and find out. Before you do, you will not get rid of me.'

'Fine, then stay.' Loki laid back again. Chances were he was dreaming this, after all.

'I will,' the spirit said and fell silent.

_About time._

Loki yawned and prepared to go back to sleep.

He couldn't.

The spirit presence in his room was no dream, and it would not be ignored. It rose like dense fog and engulfed him like sticky cobweb. It prickled on his skin and formed a lump in his stomach, the kind of lump you felt when being out in the forest at midnight with nothing but a lantern to light your way. You just knew there were trees and animals, maybe even predators or worse, nearby. You felt their shadow forms moving, their hidden eyes watching. But you could not see them. So you crept along, tensed up, your heart pounding in your throat, and no matter how tired you felt...

Loki sat up again and announced, 'I cannot sleep like this.'

The spirit answered instantly, 'Well, so you have time to learn about the secret I want to hear from you.'

'_What secret?_' moaned Loki plaintively.

'How about the one hidden deep within you? It's not your fault it's there, you know. But it's such a great secret, so potentially deadly. And other than the puny secret of the may flies, the revelation of this one might truly shake worlds. It's cataclysmic. Such valuable, scary knowledge.'

'Why should I tell you, if you already know so much about it?'

'Because I want you to find out on your own. The best moment always is the moment of revelation. And the most important thing to know in this world is the truth about oneself. Aren't you curious to learn who you are? What fear lurks inside you like a monster hidden behind a thin curtain?'

'I know who I am. I'm Loki Odinson, and I'm tired, and I'm afraid I'll never get to sleep, if you don't shut up.'

The thing under his bed chuckled as if he'd cracked a funny joke.

'This is getting us nowhere.' Sullenly, Loki grabbed his blanket, slid off of the bed and shuffled to the door.

* * *

**(**###** Asgard, 2012 **###**)**

Candles burned in Asgard's dungeon, illuminating Loki's prison with their warm flicking light. Loki sat on the floor in front of his cod crossed-legged, his hands resting on his knees and his eyes closed. There was not much time until the guards' nightly round would lead them back here to pass in front of his prison again.

He drew a deep breath and opened his eyes.

The candle flames moved. They grew and stretched, until they flowed together. Threads of golden light converged, wreathing around each other and forming a great shaft of light. With a nod of his head, the sorcerer directed the spear of brightness toward the shadows beneath his cod. There was a flash and a blinding glare which Loki had been prepared for. And for one moment he could actually see it – the face of the spirit come to haunt him over the centuries and lurking in the darkness now.

Then, the sparse magic of this place was spent, the eruption of light had been spotted and half a dozen guards came on running to prevent the supposed jailbreak.

They stopped in front of the energy grid: Odin's fallen-from-grace son sat on his reading chair, a book on his knees. Over the palm of his left hand floated a magical ball of light. He raised his head and frowned at the crowd in front of his prison cell.

A guard dared speak up, pointing at the light, 'You're not allowed to do this.'

'Well, I thought I'd do it for your convenience,' Loki said softly. 'People usually are so scared when they realize I can actually see in the dark.' He shook his head lightly as if thinking back on the occasions he was talking about. 'I would not blame them, though. I guess their reaction usually is quite adequate and _absolutely reasonable_.'

The guards suddenly felt uneasy and reluctant to repeat the demand that he put out the light.

The man who had spoken first did not want to cave in, however, 'It's light-out. You can go on reading tomorrow.'

Loki turned over his page.

'Well, you could at least use those candles,' another man suggested. 'We thought you were burning off fireworks when you ignited this thing on your hand.'

'Please, my lord,' a third one said.

Loki looked up without moving his head. 'A magical word, Gerfried. And from you.'

He put out the magical light and closed his book. Without looking at the guards again, he got up and went over to his cod. He knew they could not hear the gurgling laughter like bubbles popping at the surface of a swamp. It gave him the creeps, although he – of all people – should not be impressed with the spirit's ability of taking on appearances.

But he had seen the form the locus amoenus had chosen to wear this time. It was a clue to the hidden knowledge he was supposed to find out.

But Loki did not understand; could not begin to imagine why it had been his brother's face grinning at him from out of the shadows.

He lay on his back, his hands crossed behind his head and stared at the ceiling. He no longer was a boy, or an apprentice. He was a full-fledged magician, a trained fighter, convicted traitor, an aspiring "would-be king" – but before all of that, he was trapped here.

Like a rat, and, if the great king and his heir got their way, for the rest of his life.

_Think about it, Loki, and think carefully_,he called his own wandering thoughts to order.

_What reason could you possibly have left to be afraid of Thor now?_

* * *

**(**###** Asgard, almost 1,000 years earlier **###**)**

The knock at his door roused Thor from his slumber. He called out to the someone outside, but received no answer. So, it wasn't his mother or Odin, but someone who wanted to avoid the attention of the patroling guards. Still, Thor felt safe in his father's home, trusting in Heimdall's ever watchful eyes and his own skills, if and when it came to fight off potential foes. Pushing back the bolt, Thor expected to find Fandral and Volstagg and a nightly adventure that could not wait till morning.

But it was only his little brother, standing in the corridor on naked feet and holding his blanket by one corner.

Thor did not quite believe his eyes. 'What the Hel are you doing here? Eir said you should not get up until she told you to!'

'Can I sleep in your bed?' Loki rubbed his eyes with the knuckles of his free hand. He was swaying softly.

'In my bed? But that's were I – '

'Thank you.' Dragging his blanket behind, Loki shuffled past Thor. Without hesitating, he crawled onto the warm, rumpled bed and curled up on himself, giving a content sigh.

'Hey. _Heey_.' Thor crawled beside his brother and shook him by the shoulder. 'At least tell me why you can't stay in your room. What's up, Loki?'

'N'thing,' Loki mumbled. 'Only a monster. Under my bed.'

Thor pulled his hair to keep him awake for the conversation. 'Eir made you drink Green Stuff, Loki. You're not capable of having nightmares.'

_Actually, you're not capable of being awake, and shuffling through corridors, and talking to me. Does this mean you've got a point?_

'It's not a dream,' Loki explained solemnly. 'The spirit of the bathing pond wants your marbles. He says he'll leave only if I – if I – ' He started to drift off.

Thor shook him again, 'If you – what?'

'Tell him my secret. But, Thor, I don't know no secret. He says it's scary, and it would cause catter- catac- _problems_, and it's hidden within me. But he won't leave until I've figured it out.' Loki curled up more tightly. 'I'll see to it. First thing tomorrow. I promise. Can I sleep now? Please?'

'No way avoiding it, I guess. Can I somehow stop you from also claiming my blan- '

Loki reached for Thor's blanket and pulled it up to his chin. 'Mm-hmm. Thanks.'

Thor did not even try to be silent as he got up and got dressed to leave his room. He stopped, thinking. He returned to his bed and brought his lips close to Loki's ear, 'To get back to the issue of that toy knight, you know, the one with the real metal lance...'

**+o+o+o+o+**

Thor called in a crisis meeting of the Warriors Two (plus One) and summarized - briefly - what had happened.

He must not make more words, if he did not want to risk Fandral and Volstagg falling asleep again right on the spot. Sif, at least, seemed attentive and listening to him. She also was the only one whose hair was not sticking out in all directions and whose shirt was not hanging out of their pants – or skirt, in her case.

'Have you already checked Loki's room?' she asked. 'Maybe he did simply dream, after all.'

'We'll go there together,' Thor said, and led the tired bunch to his brother's door.

He opened. They entered.

They looked about.

'Should have... brought a light,' said Fandral.

'Candle's over there,' mumbled Sif, moving her head toward the nightstand beside the potentially haunted bed.

No one moved to get it.

'Er,' said Fandral awkwardly. 'Er, say... does... anyone else at this point miss Loki's attitude of lighting candles with sheer willpower?'

'I miss him screwing up and being furious enough to stomp off and get the candle himself, no matter what,' Sif murmured.

'Let's fan out,' Thor suggested.

No one moved away from everyone else.

Volstagg cleared his throat.

'Looks alright and quiet to me,' he said aloud.

'Ah,' a voice from under the bed said, 'Thor. Have you come to bring the marbles your brother owes me?'

Thor and his warriors exchanged looks.

They went to the door.

They closed it from outside.

'So,' Thor said. He didn't really know what to say next. 'So...'

'So we know Loki was right,' Sif said. 'There really is something under his bed.'

Volstagg scowled, 'So he really gave away Thor's marbles, that mischievous, little – '

'My _brother_, Volstagg,' Thor reminded him.

'Sorry.'

'Do we get a magician now,' Fandral asked. 'Or your father, Thor? I think he should know about this.'

'You would wake Odin Allfather in the dead of night to explain there's a monster under his younger son's bed and demanding his older son's marbles?' Thor asked.

Volstagg chuckled and was nudged in the ribs by Sif.

'Why not?' Fandral insisted. 'You think he'd go, "_Why Loki's bed? Why not under yours, my first-born?" _'

'Loki and I do not have a quarrel about succession,' Thor said haughtily. 'Nor does our father. Both of us are born to rule.'

'Looking forward to Loki laying down the time frames for the two of you alternatingly getting to wear the crown and wield the scepter...' mumbled Volstagg. 'What? You plan on squashing on the throne with him?'

'You,' said Thor icily, 'have a very big mouth.'

'There's no time for that now,' Sif quickly said. 'What else can we do to drive the monster away, Thor? Give it your marbles?'

This time, the pun caught on with Fandral. He chuckled, and Thor gladly used the chance to rap him on the head instead of going into detail and maybe a feud with Volstagg.

'What I was about to say: We could find out a secret about Loki that's even too scary for Loki himself,' Fandral said, rubbing his head.

'Alright,' said Thor. 'What's Loki afraid of?'

'Girls?' Fandral prompted.

'Your father,' suggested Sif.

'Forgotten homework,' volunteered Volstagg.

'Darkness,' said Fandral.

'Loki's not afraid of the dark,' Thor said.

'Looked different to me when we went down into the tunnels below Asgard couple of weeks ago...'

'That wasn't the dark he was anxious about,' Sif said. 'He was afraid of getting separated and having to stay down there on his own.'

'How do you know?' asked Volstagg.

'He told me.' Sif appeared unhappy. 'I'm not sure I should've told you...'

'Hey,' said Fandral, his face lighting up. 'A secret.'

'We won't tell him you told us, Sif,' Thor promised. The girl's idea made sense to him. Loki indeed was afraid of being left alone, and he even had nightmares about it. He said it felt terribly real, like he'd been forgotten in the wild when he was a baby. He seemed to remember crying for his life for hours on end, until Odin Allfather rescued him.

For some strange reason, it was always Odin Allfather's hands Loki saw in his dreams, coming towards him. Never Thor, never Heimdall who would be a reasonable choice to find a lost child. And never, ever Frigga, no matter how much Loki adored his mother (and also feared her when he'd forgotten his homework, Volstagg was not completely off-track there).

'Let's do it, then,' said Thor. 'Let's find out how to spur Loki's memory.'

'Got any suggestions?' asked Fandral.

'Let's go to my room. We need to move him.'

'Didn't Eir want him to get a good night's sleep?' Sif pointed out.

'He will,' Thor said. 'We just carry him. He doesn't have to be awake for that.'

'Won't he notice?' Fandral asked.

'He won't,' Thor shook his head. 'Eir's potions have pretty much knocked him out. But your objection has been noted. We will not touch him.'

'Not touch him? But how – '

'Just come along, Fandral.'

+++End of Chapter 2+++


	3. The Monster in the Basement

Hi, everybody. Sorry for not updating sooner. I've been very busy, and I will probably be for some time. But R&R, and inspire me to leave my work every now and then in order to write :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Thor, Loki, Fandral, Volstagg, Sif, Frigga and Odin Allfather, I hold no rights to the Marvel characterizations. This is done for fun and love of the movies, and I do not make money out of it.

* * *

**+++ Chapter 3: The Monster in the Basement+++**

**(**###** Asgard, 2012 **###**)**

'Nothing?' Loki asked. 'He won't allow me any tools? None at all? Not even the rat-tails?'

'He thinks you might use them for other purposes than exorcising your "guest",' Frigga said. She was back in image, sadly watching her bad news upset her imprisoned son.

'I might gather _some_ magic ingredients and catalysts in any other dungeon,' Loki said. 'There's usually some moss to be found, and spiders, and bugs.' He slammed his fist into a wall that was not pure, crackling energy. 'But in here, there's not even moldy bread. How am I going to separate the creature from its magical source?'' He sat in his reading chair and massaged his temples.

'Odin Allfather was generous, allowing you to remain in command of your powers of illusion,' Frigga said. 'He is not prepared to make any more concessions.'

'Some concession, indeed,' Loki said bitterly. 'I'd assume there's enough talk as it is, with the younger prince of Asgard sentenced to spend his life in prison. The mighty king couldn't afford revealing my true form to the public just now.'

The locus amoenus spoke up, 'But are you not glad this secret no longer exists?' He fell silent, waiting for the clatter to die down. 'I don't mind if you fling your tin cup at me, Jotun. Fling all you like and can lay your hands on. I cannot be hurt in this manner.'

Loki stood again and looked about. Where his gaze fell, things started to rattle and move: books, chairs, candle holders...

'Loki, please, stop.' Frigga said over the rising noise. 'If the guards hear, I'll have to leave. Who knows, when I could come back...'

The noise ceased. The only thing still swaying softly was Loki himself. He staggered over to the wall.

'You're tired,' Frigga commented.

'I cannot go on like this.' Loki sat with his back against the wall, weaving the fingers of his left hand through his dark hair. 'I haven't slept properly for days. Every time I doze off, I feel that oppressive demonical presence. Routines of controlling my magical perception seem useless.'

'I will try and talk to - '

Loki interrupted her, 'But it's_ no use. _The king will not listen!'

'Let me finish,' Frigga said with mild reproach. 'I was about to say that I will talk to your brother.'

Loki's eyes flashed angrily, 'Leave Thor out of this!'

'Why? He is your brother.'

'He's _not_!'

'Well, someone who was close enough to you to care, then.'

'He will not care now!'

'I will not fight with you over this.' Frigga's image started to flicker at the edges.

Loki stood at to the energy grid, 'Mother! Mother, no! I do not want his help._ I do not need_ - '

'_Good-bye_ for now, Loki.'

'No, wait!' Loki raised his hand and got too close to the restraining energy wall. Sparks leapt over, and he clutched his arm to his chest, hissing. _It was amazing, the amount of pain caused by something you would have controled easily. In your former life that was no condemned to the misery of this cell... this company..._

'I could have told you this would happen,' the locus amoenus said. 'But what can I say - I'm into things unexpected and unheard-of, and this was _way_ too obvious.'

* * *

**(**###** Asgard, almost 1,000 years ago**###**)**

The bed was moving.

The sensation took some time to sink in and register. Which meant that the bed had been moving for quite a longer time, until it actually managed to rouse him.

When it did, Loki started, 'Hhhm? _What?_' Lifting his head, he hit something soft, not heavy – his blanket. It was draped over his head. 'Thor? You there?'

The bed shook even more. Something flopped down beside Loki; another heavy body. Someone on the other side of the blanket groaned, and another voice ground a curse between clenched teeth. The blanket was lifted, and Thor crawled in, cheerfully.

'Of course I'm here, Loki. You're in my bed, after all.'

'Your bed?' Loki asked, confused.

'Don't you remember? You came over to sleep in my bed. Because there's a monster under yours.'

Memory returned to Loki like a cold slap to his face, 'There really is, Thor. It's called a "locus amoenus", and it - ' Loki blinked. 'You were in my room, were you not? You talked to it?' Uneasy, he tried to gauge his brother's emotions in the dusk, 'Did you give it your marbles?'

'Talked to it, yes. But I didn't give away anything.'

'Have you - have you told father?' Loki asked anxiously.

'No. Why would I?' Thor seemed genuinely puzzled.

Loki shifted into "contrited-little-brother" mode. He had no particular reason, but it was what he'd prepared himself to do, and he was feeling too drowsy to redispose, 'I'm sorry. Really, I am. I didn't want things to come to this - '

Miraculously, Thor still was not upset. 'I know, Loki. But it can wait. Let's talk about it tomorrow; make some plans...'

'Are you stroking my hair?' Although Loki was drifting off again, he still managed to squint at his brother suspiciously.

'What if I am?' Thor asked in his best "patronizing-big-brother" tone of voice.

'You never stroke my hair, except when you're up to something and want me to fall asleep. So you can sneak out with the others,' Loki told him.

'I never knew you noticed.' Thor was baffled.

Loki shrugged, yawning.

'Alright.' Thor opted for frontal attack. 'We are up to _something_, Sif, Fandral, Volstagg and I. And this time, you're part of it, too.'

Instantly, a cunning gleam came into Loki's eyes, 'Really? When do we start?'

'Soon. Now, go to sleep. You cannot join us like this.'

'But you won't sneak out on me this time? You will wait for me? Promise?'

'We could not succeed without you,' Thor stated firmly. 'But you must sleep now. - _Mother will not let you come, if you don't._'

'Oh,' Loki said, snuggling back into the mattress. 'Oh yes, so then... _thass fine...I s'pose..._'

The cunning was gone again; the dark-haired prince was only a boy now, and proud that he should be part of some of the older kids' schemes. That Thor had _asked him._

Thor did not even feel very guilty. A general had to base his decisions on necessity, not the fear of enraged siblings ratting on them to their parents. Slowly, he released his breath and counted to ten. 'Alright, let's move.'

'First, you get off there,' Fandral said. 'It's hard enough, carrying your brother through half of Asgard like this. But only royal order could make me haul you along, too.'

Careful not to wake his brother again, Thor slid to the floor. It was never easy to sneak _out or up_ on Loki now, since he had mastered that magical-senses-trick. So, in order to abduct him, the friends, without much fuss, had lifted Thor's mattress out of the bedstead. Loki continued to sleep as they carried him through the corridors, hidden under his blanket and too far under the influence of Eir's medicine to be alarmed by their distant mumbling.

And if it had not been for Volstagg tripping, everything would have worked out neatly.

Thor joined the boy who was strong enough to handle the front end of the mattress all on his own. Fandral and Sif took on the weight of the foot end. It had been their groaning and cursing when Thor jumped onto the mattress alongside Loki that had almost brought desaster to their endeavor.

'Let's get going,' Thor ordered in a hushed voice. 'In step, if you please.'

* * *

**(**###** Asgard, 2012**###**)**

'Marbles, mother?' Thor was flabbergasted. 'You mean the bag of glass toys I was so proud of as a boy?'

'Raise your arms sideways, sir, please,' said the servant who was mending the damage from yesterday's battle on Thor's breast plate. Thor lifted his arms until they were in line with his shoulders. The servant, an aged and merited butler to the House of Aesir, eagerly set to work on the leather straps.

Frigga, who was present not as an image but in person, nodded, 'Yes, my son, the very same. Is it still in your possession?'

'Well, it sure is no longer under my pillow at night as it used to be.' Thor scratched his head and earned a stern look from the old servant.

'On the prince's wish, the prince's belongings of childhood days were stowed away in a trunk,' the old man volunteered.

'A trunk?' asked Thor, lowering his arms. The servant sighed and moved his awl to indicate that he meant to continue sewing. Only when Thor raised his arms again, did the man speak again, 'It was locked with iron bands, sealed and spelled, and taken to the attic in one of the western towers. I shall provide the key in a minute, if my prince wishes to go there...'

Surprised, Thor looked at his mother, 'This place truly is what humans of earth call "a museum".'

'This time, it comes as a blessing.' Frigga felt utterly relieved. There had been a time when she was sure nothing could ever come between her sons and severe the strong bond of brotherly friendship. Now, she was not sure anymore. Even imprisoned, with nothing to hope for save his sibling's mercy, Loki had nothing left for Thor but scorn. And whatever feelings Thor might still harbour for his brother, he had buried them deep within and piled on layers of duty and hard warrior's work.

'Do not judge prematurely,' Thor said now, as if in response to her private thoughts.

'Thor! Your brother needs your help!'

'So I understand, and also that you wish me to comply,' Thor said. 'I will not even pretend that running errands for Loki ranks very high among my priorities these days. But that was not the reason for my cautioning words, mother. I remember giving some of my toys away to Fandral, the Lady Sif, Volstagg...'

Frigga's heart sank, 'What can we do? That abominable demon wants them all.'

Thor sighed, 'Since I would not wish to turn down my mother's request, there is but one thing to do: I will ask my friends.'

* * *

**(**###** Asgard, almost 1,000 years ago**###**)**

Loki needed to go to the bathroom. At first he simply refused to wake up, but the urge was building fast. He shifted his weight to take pressure off his bladder. The result was unsatisfactory and short-lived. The need returned, and this time it would no longer be ignored.

_That was what you got from drinking so much water and so many potions before falling asleep! _

Feeling curiously wrung out, Loki cracked open his eyes.

And opened them wide with surprise.

This wasn't Thor's room, he was lying in. This was a cold, damp dungeon, lit by a lantern that sat on the floor in front of him. The walls were naked stone, pock-marked with the traces of the hammers and chisels that had carved this room from Asgard's foundation - centuries, maybe millennia ago. The ceiling was stone, too, and allowing for just enough headroom for a man to stand. There were walls to three sides of the roughly rectangular chamber...

'No, seriously, Thor,' Loki sat up. Just ahead, beyond the lantern's light, there was an exit. A tunnel, black and scary.

He was not usually one to be easily frightened. But this time Thor had done it, he really had!

'_You gotta be kidding me._' Loki's voice sounded thin and small in his ears.

Ahead, darkness continued to gape like a monster yawning at the boy.

_Shy away all you like, but you will still enter my shadows,_ it seemed to say. _There's no other way back to Asgard's bright halls,_ the lightless hole said.

Loki was smart enough to know this to be as true as the fact that sometimes he just felt like murdering his brother. Nothing very sophisticated or stealthy. Just take control of the Destroyer and make it march over Thor. Make it look so it might pass for an accident...

Then turn around, give a sneer and a damn, and march again.

* * *

**(**###** Asgard, 2012**###**)**

'The toy marbles you gave me?' Fandral said. 'Of course I still have them.'

Thor heaved a sigh. The first steps of his quest had turned out more effective than he had dared hope. He had found Sif and the Warriors Three in the tavern where they usually gathered after a long day in the training grounds. They occupied their usual table and offered him the seat he usually took when joining them. The occasions when he was free to do so had gotten rare, lately. Still, his seat was there, waiting for him.

They had given him more than just wary looks as he told them Loki was in a fix and needed his brother's help. They were polite enough not to comment at once: that he must have lost his marbles in the idiomatic way, and they would not assist him in this, unless he should explicitly order them to.

However, this was a mess, and Thor was not going to order them to join him in it . So, after finishing his story and most of his goblet of mead, he waited for them to speak up.

At first, no one would take the word.

Then, Hogun said, '_Locus amoenus._ My people are familiar with this kind of spirit. Our druids demarcate their abodes 'verboten'. No one is allowed to go near those haunted places. Those who do anyway are known to fall prey to stark madness not even the druids know how to cure.'

'Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Hogun. But Loki is currently sharing _his prison cell_ with such a spirit,' Fandral pointed out.

'Well, methinks our trickster's sanity has been found wanting before,' Volstagg said comfortably.

'He was one of us, once,' Sif said. 'My judgement on Loki has significantly changed since those days. But even though I no longer think Loki worthy of the name of "friend", I do hope that I, the Lady Sif, valkyre and first of Asgard's female warriors, live up to this title of honour. Count on me, Thor.'

Thor felt a rush of gratitude at her words. Before he could speak up, though, Fandral presented him eight shining marbles in his palm.

'You've actually got them with you?' Thor asked, perplexed.

'You gave them to me in the aftermath of my first fight as a knight of Asgard,' Fandral said. 'The gift was due to some kind of jest-wager we had agreed on beforehand; I do not even remember the conditions. But I've carried them under my harness ever since, as some kind of talisman.'

Thor felt deeply touched, 'I cannot take them away from your then, friend. That would be too much asked of someone so considerate and loyal.'

'Yet, you will need all the good luck you can get.' Fandral put the marbles in the bag he had kept them in and held it out to Thor. 'Because judging from the others' looks, their tokens of times long past will not be unearthed as easily.'

* * *

**(**###** Asgard, almost 1,000 years ago**###**)**

Carrying the lantern, Loki wandered the tunnels under the great palace of Asgard. He still hoped to find a quick way out. He was cold, and he was angry. How far would his stupid brother and his nitwit friends enter this vast maze of trapdoors and mine collapse, anyway? He had immediately thought of marking his way, but no piece of chalk or singed wood to do it with. So he formed a sign of pebbles at each forking or crossroads, or he scratched the floor with a stone. After all, there was no one down here but him.

Or so he believed.

Until he turned a corner and met the stranger.

The man was a middle-aged Asgardian by appearance, and dressed like a mine worker. He stood in front of a boulder like he was contemplating the obstacle that blocked the tunnel. He stepped closer and pushed. He clawed at the stone and tried to pull.

He stood again, thinking.

Loki's magical sense screamed. He crabbed backwards, trying to slip around the corner unnoticed...

'How are things up there in the castle, lad?' the man asked.

Loki stopped. Like so often, his common sense and curiosity warred in the face of danger. Just as usual, Loki used the time while they did to get in some questions of his own. He would be the first to agree that, for a one-hundred-and-eight-year-old, he was leading a risky life. Still, he asked, 'You're a ghost, aren't you?'

'Is it finished, the royal family's bright home, the palace of Asgard? How fares King We?'

'He's been dead for centuries,' Loki said.

'So am I, then,' said the ghost evenly. 'Who is king now?'

'Odin, who is called "Allfather" by the people of the nine realms...'

'Odin,' mused the ghost, as if he were in vain trying to place that name. 'Say, can you deliver a message to the king? From Georn, his predecessor's master tunneler? Tell him I shall need a dozen strong men with pickaxes, ropes and a set of pulleys, to clear this tunnel.'

'Why do you need to clear it?' asked Loki.

The answer came promptly, 'Because I must.'

'I read that some of the cursed are forever bound to some place or task. Are you cursed, Georn?'

The ghost turned to Loki for the first time, as if surprised to hear his own name spoken. His face was of skin, but his eyes were empty, black sockets. Still, they seemed to fasten on the lantern, spell-bound. 'That's a - light you have there...'

Loki took a step backward.

'I never see light now - ' The ghost rushed forward with a sudden, great leap that a living body could not have imitated. Pale fingers clawed for the lantern.

Loki screeched in shock and bolted for the corner. The ghost screamed after him to stay, to not go away. _No, not after him._

_After the lantern._

Loki ran until the howling, clamoring voice was lost in the distance. He turned the last corners in an almost calm mind again. It was probably alright, even sensible, to be scared, if someone wanted to steal your lantern in a labyrinth of lightless catacombs. But how long could you remain in a state of shock? He never managed for longer than necessary to let the extra energy help him fight his way out.

Sitting with with back against a wall, he remembered the ghost calling out to him. Ordering him to stop, beseeching him to deliever the message. _Men. Pickaxes. A hoist. To clear the tunnel, you hear me, boy?_

Only then, Loki realized that on his mad flight he had forgotten to mark his way.

He was lost.

And while his thoughts filled with the dread of possible consequences, a smaller part of his mind wondered, whether the Destroyer could be made to tap-dance. On Thor.

Looking like it was purely coincidential.

* * *

The rope fastened to Thor's foot unwound slowly. The Warriors Two plus One watched in apprehension. Their leader was completey gone from sight, crawling under Loki's bed and commenting on dust, lost toys and spiders, dead or alive, that he encountered on his way.

'Thanks for bringing the gleaming stone, Fandral,' said Sif just to ease the tension. 'Thor couldn't have used a real torch under the bed.'

'My pleasure,' the blond boy said. 'I just hope no one breaks their legs feeling their way to the restroom on the southern wall now.'

'Don't worry,' Thor said from out of the dark. 'Whatever comes of this, remember that you acted in the best interest of Asgard's royal family.'

'What if Loki's lantern winks out, and_ he_ breaks his legs, down there?' Volstagg asked. 'Will that count as having been in the best interest of Asgard's royal family? Just wondering...'

'No, that would count as royal stupidity,' Thor decided. 'Loki is of royal blood, but not stupid, _therefore he'll be fine_.'

Fandral leaned forward. 'Do you see anything yet, Thor?'

Thor crawled again, his friends could tell by the rope uncoiling. 'I've got to reach – farther to the back – '

'Be careful,' warned Sif.

'Uh, Thor?' said Volstagg.

'I can see something now.' Thor crawled towards the shadow that seemed to condense in front of him. '_Hey, you?_ Are you the locus amoenus?'

'Thor,' said Volstagg portentously. ' I really think you should come out...'

'Not now, Volstagg.' Fascinated, Thor watched the shadow form that looked like a man sitting with his elbows on his knees and his face in his hand. It had to be an illusion, though. There was not enough space under the bed for a man-sized creature to sit. As he gazed, the apparition raised its "head" and turned to him. _Blue._ The embodiment of Loki's fear was blue-skinned. With red eyes.

'A Jotun!' Thor reached for the wooden sword he had brought in case something like this should -

'THOR ODINSON!' Odin Allfather boomed, forcefully driving his Staff of Power on the floor. 'GET OUT! NOW!'

Thor had started up at his father's first word, hitting his head. _See?_ He had known the bed was not that far up as the spirit wanted to make him believe. Now, he wriggled backwards, moving on his elbows as quickly as possible. Someone pulled the safety line on his foot, so he went sliding on his stomach rather than crawling. His last impression of the spirit Jotun were the creature's red eyes, the look on its face. As if it meant to call out to him, one blue-skinned hand reaching out pleadingly.

Then, Asgard's crown prince sat on the floor in front of the bed and looked up at his father, the king. Thor could not remember his father looking so angry before.

_Now he's going to banish me, _he thought, and then, defiantly, _But why? I didn't do anything! It is all Loki's fault - _

'Father - '

'Out of the way, Thor,' Odin said. Thor scooted away sideways. His father stood before the bed.

'Leave this place, spirit!' the king commanded.

'I am here on rightful purpose,' the locus amoenus claimed. 'I have a bargain with Loki, the second prince of Asgard. A secret to be told - a secret that would shake the kingdom were it to be known - and at the cheap price of a bag of toys.'

'Were the knowledge apt to shake the roots of the world tree, and the price as cheap as a bag of mouse shit,' Odin said. 'It would still not lie within Loki's power to strike a bargain with those marbles that belong to his brother. And it is above your station to delay an order given by Odin Allfather.' He banged his staff onto the floor again, and the stone itself quaked.

'I am not spoiling for a fight,' the locus amoenus said. 'But I will return to claim my due, Odin Allfather. The day the light of your one eye no longer shines benignly on your son shall be the day I turn my sight back on him.'

'If that hour should ever arrive, Loki will be strong and skilled enough to do with you as I do now,' Odin said, holding his spell. But there was no reply. The spirit had left. While Odin Allfather made sure it was not a stratagem on his opponent's part, Thor's friends gathered round their leader. Sif removed the rope, while the boys marveled at the dust in their friend's hair, the bruised elbows and the lump on his head where he had bumped it.

'You called out "Jotun", Thor,' Fandral said, 'What have you seen?'

Thor gave his report of the hunched thing and how it had viciously reached out for him. He illustrated his story with expansive movements imitating the wielding of a weapon, 'So, I took my sword, and I would have chopped it up, and - '

'But why would Loki secretly harbour thoughts of frost giants?' asked Sif. 'Because that's what we're talking about, aren't we? Something that used to be on Loki's mind and that he, somehow, no longer thinks of?'

'Not quite, young lady,' said Odin. He seemed to be choking on his words. 'A locus amoenus will show the onlooker the face of a deep-rooted, hidden fear.'

The information caused a new need for discussion among the friends.

'Loki is afraid of frost giants?' Volstagg said. 'Well, it does make sense, I guess. What with him being so small, and all...'

'But that's not a big deal,' Fandral said. 'I was afraid of monsters, too, when I was smaller.'

'Volstagg was referring to size, not age,' Sif said.

'So was I.' Fandral shrugged.

'Anyway,' said Thor, re-taking the floor he never left for very long anyway. 'I guess that means we're done here, so let's get Loki out of the tunn-_ehhh_...' His eyes flickered up to his father.

The king's good eye flashed. '_Thor Odinson!_ Were you about to say that you and your bunch of friends marooned Odin Allfather's younger son in the tunnels under Asgard to force him to face his most secret fears?'

'Er...not quite, father,' Thor said, unwittingly trying to control the slipping situation by employing his father's own words. 'We thought he might remember what it was the demon wanted him to remember. So he would come up with something useful to drive the spirit away.' Thor looked at the window, the night outside, and added airily, 'But he was sound asleep when we left him there. With any luck, he hasn't even noticed yet.'

'Of course, with any less luck, he's stumbling through the dark, screaming,' Volstagg said darkly.

+++End of Chapter 3+++


	4. Monsters! Everywhere!

Hi, everyone. I'm sorry it took me so long to continue. This summer is really busy - but this story is getting really nice reviews, and my thanks go out to everyone of you reading and commenting. I re-watch the movies very attentively when I write fanfic, and yes, the "Destroyer scene" is one of my favorite mysteries in terms of character psychology. Loki's first great chance for killing his brother. And he doesn't *blast* Thor. He *slaps* him, and just when everyone thinks, they _could_ maybe live happily ever after... Interesting motivation, really :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Thor, Loki, Fandral, Volstagg, Sif, Frigga and Odin Allfather, I hold no rights to the Marvel characterizations. This is done for fun and love of the movies, and I do not make money out of it.

* * *

**+++ Chapter 4: Monsters! Everywhere!+++**

(###** Asgard, 2012 **###**)**

'Can you hurry up a bit?' asked Volstagg.

'Getting there,' said Fandral. 'Just a sec.'

'So you said five seconds ago.'

'Give me that pickaxe,' said Sif, and since Fandral did not move fast enough for her taste, she dropped her shovel and took the tool from him. She tackled the ground again. 'Some idea, Volstagg, burying your marbles in a crack between solid rock... of course it would've been grown over by now.'

Thor dodged a blazing shaft of fire and spun the Mjolnir. 'It would have been easier, if you had not buried them outside a dragon's layer.' His eyes sparkled. 'But it wouldn't have been this much fun, either.'

The Mjolnir ricochetted off the red-and-golden scales that were the giant reptile's natural armor. The horned head with the large teeth turned away from Volstagg and went for the thunderer instead. Volstagg saw his chance and jumped and scrambled onto the beast's back. He hit it with his battle ax. Although the blade did not even scratch the scaly head, it did serve to divert the dragon from Thor. The thunderer was preparing another attack.

'Hang on,' said Fandral again, devoting himself to pushing pebbles with his foot._ No one could claim he had been all words and no work..._ 'We're only talking inches now.'

Hogun straightened up and touched his forehead with his sleeve. He was standing in a hole up to his waist. 'You were a boy, when you buried your marbles in this place, Volstagg. How deep did you dig?'

'Very deep, obviously,' said Volstagg, without losing the rhythm of his hammering away on the dragon's head. 'I wanted the marbles safe from thieves.'

'You had already buried them within eye-sight of one of the most aggressive creatures of Asgard,' Fandral pointed out.

'Yes, but it was such a small, _inffectively aggressive creature_, back then.' Volstagg rode the monster bravely and ducked, as the Mjolnir shot past, hit the dragon and returned to Thor's hand.

'How things change with the passage of time,' mused Sif, as she buried her pickax in a claw and, pulling sharply, saved Fandral from getting his head slapped off.

Hogun looked like he'd been hit with an idea, 'Just how many steps north of the cave entrance, did you say, did you hide the box?'

'Seventy-six-and-a-half.'

On this information, Hogun started to act quite strangely: He climbed out of his hole and went past the fighting monster and his slaying comrades. He walked straight back to the cave and briefly checked with the position of sun in the sky. Then he started to walk in northward direction, taking remarkably short strides. This made him approach the excavation site again, but he stopped well before the original hole. He pointed at the ground, 'Dig here, Sif.'

Before long, a metal box was unearthed.

'Seventy-six-and-a-half steps,' Thor said, dealing the raging dragon a final, almost casual blow with the Mjolnir. '_A boy's steps,_ Volstagg. Not only the dragon has grown. You did, too.'

Sif handed Thor the metal box. He opened it and counted.

'Eight marbles, just like Fandral,' he stated. 'Twenty-six to go. And only one hiding place left to seek out. I suppose that spirit is in for a disappointment.'

'We did what we could,' Fandral said. 'Let Loki figure out how to "silver-tongue" himself out of the rest.'

He didn't say it aloud. But they all felt it: The fact that they had originally engaged on this quest in order to help Thor's brother had constantly faded farther into the background. They were doing things together. Other things than studying maps and riding patrols and fighting for Asgard at the kingdom's borders.

_This was fun._

And one dragon slain.

Volstagg was already cutting off the beast's horns to show for their victory.

Everyone turned to Sif. 'Now, to find the last treasure...'

She drew a deep breath.

'Swear you won't tell anybody,' she said.

* * *

**(**###** Asgard, almost 1,000 years ago**###**)**

'This isn't right.' Loki squatted at a small brook and held his lantern to both directions, the one the water was coming from, and the other where it disappeared into the dark. The tunnel was broad enough to walk beside the rivulet, but Loki was almost convinced that Thor had not come this way.

He got up and started to retrace his steps. He was confident that he could find back to his starting point, the chamber with the mattress. He knew he had a good sense of directions. A better one than Thor or any of his friends, at any rate. Even the scholar in charge of teaching the boys basic coastal and celestial navigation had once claimed that he had nothing to teach Loki. The boy would simply _find his way home_, across a vast field of snow, if need be, and with no landmarks or stars to go by. His sense of orientation was that amazing and seemingly designed for just that task. A mystery, like the big swarms of birds that filled the sky over Asgard in springtime and fall, or the salmon swimming upstream, but never, ever in doubt as to what river to choose.

Loki had taken to the image immediately.

But Frigga had given the man real Hel: He was supposed to teach the boys the fundamental craft of navigating, not put follies in their heads. The boys had seldom seen their mother so furiously determined; and on a topic that seemed so comparably irrelevant. They had discussed the matter thoroughly, sitting under a metal rod watching the clouds build and waiting for Thor's lightning to strike (_one day,_ Thor claimed, _he'd have some powerful tool to control the thunderstorms. Until then, they'd just have to make do._)

Thor said that Frigga was probably afraid that Loki might become an even more obnoxious smart-aleck, if one confirmed him in his know-it-all manner.

Loki thought his mother was afraid Thor might start a crazy expedition and tie his brother to the ship's figurehead to serve as a living compass...

...Out of the dark, green eyes stared at him.

_Well,_ he thought, unwilling to be roused from his reverie, _that was nothing to be afraid of._ His own eyes were green, after all.

But they didn't glow in the dark. He'd know. Thor would have told him.

_(Thor always told him things that were obvious. Like, "Oops. A real biggie, that one. Did you feel it crackle, brother?")_

'Thor,' Loki whispered as he retreated, step by step. Away from those pair of eyes that boded danger, and malice, and ill-will in any way conceivable, 'Thor, you can't mean to do this. Thor, don't leave me alone now...'

_("Brother?! You alright?")'_

'Thor?! Father will be SO mad at you, I promise, if you think you saw him mad, it's nothing compared to what - '

The thing the green eyes belonged to leapt out into the tunnel. It was the biggest rat that Loki had ever seen. The only rat with a line of scales running along the spine and covering the paws, making them resemble the sharp talons of a bird of prey rather than the limbs of a furred animal.

It lay eyes on Loki and squealed.

Under other circumstances, the squeaky voice on such a monster might have been funny.

As things were, Loki did not feel like laughing. He spun round and bolted. As he had already feared, this creature, other than your avarage ghost and victim of dark-magic curses, had no objection against leaving its territory when food was concerned. And it was hungry.

Eyes fixed on the floor ahead, Loki ran for his life.

* * *

**(**###** Asgard, 2012 **###**)**

Thor looked up at Sif, and his grin threatened to split his face, 'I'd never have thought this could be used as a hiding place.'

'You came here, _all on your own_, and you climbed this monster and put a bag of marbles between its artificial ribs?' asked Fandral.

'It was the best-protected place I could think of at that time.' Sif was sitting on the shoulders of the "Destroyer", Asgard's ultimate mechanic warrior. Basically, it was nothing more than an empty armour, three times the size of a tall man. The reigning king could bring it alive and send it out to fight Asgard's enemies with deadly blasts of fire.

Right now, it was hollow, bereft of its magic. Sif was clinging to its bulky torso with her legs and digging between the plates of armour with her dagger.

'Best-protected place?' Fandral asked. 'That thing goes right into battle!'

'Yes, but at one-hundred-and-ten-years of age - did you truly believe it could be destroyed by anyone save the king himself?' asked Hogun.

'How did you get behind the restrictive energy field?' asked Thor of Sif.

'I didn't. I lay in waiting until it returned from some battle. The time the Destroyer took for walking down the length of the weapon's vault was ample time for what I had in mind. Without a direct order, it doesn't react to being jumped at, you know.'

'The way she sits up there... Doesn't that remind you of good old fights,' mused Volstagg. 'The five of us on Midgard, on the street of this little town of humans...'

'I do not wish to think of that fight right now,' said Thor curtly. After all, it was the first time he'd begun to sense the extent of Loki's hate for him. Not understood, no, not nearly. That had come much later, on a roof top in another human city, the place called "New York".

'The past is but a foreshadowing of the future, and therefore ever present,' stated Hogun, sharing a piece of wisdom from the complex philosophy of Wanaheim's caste of warriors.

'If I felt like I did nine hundred years ago, I'd be head over heels in love with Sif,' said Fandral matter-of-factly.

'I've heard you crack funnier jokes, Fandral.' Sif produced a bag from between two of the lamellas on the Destroyer's armoured back. She had to pull hard and stopped to widen the gap with her blade, then pulled again.

'Didn't you know?' Fandral insisted. 'Everyone was in love with you – ' (the bag came free and was handed to Thor), 'Other maidens had a collection of unicorns to show for their virtue. You showed a collection of swords to everyone who so much as dared question the virtue of a maid in armor...'

Sif arched her pretty eyebrows, 'Still, I don't believe that everyone – '

'Seventeen,' said Thor, looking in surprise at the objects in his palm and then up at Sif. 'I gave you _seventeen_ of my marbles?'

'See?' said Fandral triumphantly. '_Every_ _one_.'

**+o+o+o+o+o+**

'Now, said Hogun. 'We have put so much effort into retrieving the toys of your childhood. And only nine pieces are yet a-missing. I wonder where Thor will lead us to to find them.'

'Another dragon?' said Volstagg hopefully, touching the two curved horns on his belt.

'An army of magically animated armor?' asked Fandral, anxiously.

'A vicious witch, having taken the queen hostage?' suspected Sif, as Thor halted before a well-known door. He rapped the wood with his knuckles.

Frigga opened the door from within. 'Were you successful, my son?'

'We have retrieved thirty-three marbles, out of forty-two,' he said.

'This is bad news then. Because the chest I had the servants search contained only six of them.' She held out the bag to her son. 'But I am afraid, things cannot be changed easily right now. Go, Thor. Maybe the malicious spirit will be prepared to parley, when it hears what you have done to fulfill the greater part of its demands.'

'I will see what I can do,' Thor promised. 'Come on, my friends. Let's not waste time.'

They all followed behind, as Thor walked down the corridor with long strides. All their faces were vaguely abashed whenever they looked at the bag in Thor hand, the one he had simply knocked on a door to gain.

Finally - 'Somehow,' Fandral said, but very, very softly, 'I feel kinda stupid.'

Hogun cleared his throat. 'Let's face it,' he said. 'It's wonderful, honorable, a matter for taking great personal pride in, the things you did to protect your marbles from potential danger and theft. But, in real life, _no-one_ will be interested in stealing a couple of glass marbles. No-one over one-hundred-and-twenty, that is...'

There was a short silence.

Then, Fandral again, 'Again, thank you so very much, Hogun, for sharing your opinion,' he said. '_That_, of course, made me feel _a lot better._'

* * *

**(**###** Asgard, almost 1,000 years ago**###**)**

Loki knew he had only this one chance of survival: With the rat monster at his heels he must not run into a dead end. The only reason why he still managed to keep his paper-thin lead over the beast was the fact that this maze was laid out in crossroads, curves and bends. Loki, light-weighted and nimble, turned the corners full speed. Sometimes he just grabbed the edge of the wall and let his own momentum carry him around the bend.

The monster, on the other hand, had to slow down a tiny bit, every time, to move its greater mass in the new direction.

But if he should happen to find his way blocked by a wall or part of the ceiling crumbled down...

_Well, the "living compass" would have a word or two with Thor, if he survived this! He'd unearth the twisted, molten, blackened metal rod and retrospectively hit the would-be master of lightning over the head with it (something he'd missed out to do earlier, because he'd never been cleanly whacked out of his shoes before...his _smoldering_ shoes...)_

Loki turned one last corner and saw the ancient ghost and the blocked corridor.

'You're back,' Georn said. 'How much time has passed?'

'A huge rat is about to eat me,' Loki shouted, even as the ghost spoke. 'You've got to help me.'

'The workmen are yet to follow, I assume? The pickaxes, the hoist, the - '

'Ghosts do know some magical spells, don't they?' Loki ran toward the apparition. 'Can you fight that monster? Burn it, or – or _petrify_ it? Vaporize it, make it vanish into thin air?'

The ghost still tried to look past him, hoping for an army of miners to crash into his tunnel, 'What did the king say?'

'He's not said anything so far,' Loki screamed, desperate. 'Listen to me! Who's going to deliver your message, when I'm dead?'

Then, a new scary idea hit him, _Oh, by Hel, if I die in this place, I might find myself stuck in the same curse and forced to spend eternity with this simpleton... _

But he had no time to re-consider. The rat monster stood in the corridor. Its eyes fixed on Loki. It charged. Instinctively, Loki raised his arms to protect his head and face. He let himself fall to the ground and closed his eyes tightly._ Father - Thor - mother - someone - anyone - please! PLEASE!_ His scream of terror sounded over the curious crackling noise that accompanied the sudden movement on the floor. It was followed by a loud crack, like a great crystal being shattered with a hammer and breaking into a thousand shards and tiny fragments.

Lokis eyes snapped open again. He found the world of the maze around him significantly changed: The corridor was covered with ice. The walls were coated with glittering ice crystals, the floor was slippery and shiny as if made of glass. Along the ceiling, frost spread in thick veins of deep-blue ice as if the mysterious power at work here had tried to encrust it all, but ran out of magical energy halfway up the walls.

Loki turned around.

In front of the great boulder which the ghost had so desperately tried to move, there lay the dead rat monster. It was frozen solid, as if the cold had surprised it in mid-leap. Freezing it in a wink, so throughly that its neck broke upon impact like a brittle crystalline structure smashed against granite.

'Thank you,' Loki stammered. 'Thank you.'

Miraculously, he did not even feel cold anymore. He felt tired. Bone-weary tired, almost like he himself had worked the spell instead of the helpful ghost. He did not even flinch, when the spell he had worked on his clothes gave out and he stood there in his night-gown, on bare feet. He only sighed, silently cursing the fact that he was not, say, two-hundred years older. A little more experience, and a soul that had learned to draw on its own resources more effectively - and he'd never have to worry about apparel again.

He turned back to the ghost. 'I will deliver your message, I promise... oh. No, don't, that's not very – ' Loki pressed himself against the wall as the ghost started hammering on the frozen boulder. With an deafening noise, even this large and massive rock was cleaved: Ice had eaten its way into the structure, weaving a net of a myriad of tiny branches that cracked stone open as if it were no more solid than the shell of an egg.

Loki made himself small, covering his head with his arms, and waited for the hail of small stones to cease. When he dared straighten up again, the rock was a mere heap of pebbles in the corridor. Apparently, a whole length of the tunnel had collapsed, a long, long time ago.

The ghost immediately started to climb over the debris and disappeared in the darkness beyond.

'Hey, wait for me.' Loki prepared to follow the ghost. It was dangerous, down here. But this faithful workman of Loki's ancestor, Georn, had proven his unbroken loyalty by saving the boy. Loki meant to make use of his advantage for as long as possible.

Stumbling and slipping, he picked his path across the loose gravel. He wished he knew what had happened to him, so he might be able to restore his spell and his shoes... But then again, with leather soles to tread on, he probably would not have noticed he was stepping on something else but stone...

He looked down: His naked foot sat on a skeletal hand that stuck out from under the gravel.

* * *

**(**###** Asgard, 2012 **###**)**

The guards marching down the corridor and stepping in line in front of Loki's prison cell were the first indication that something was afoot.

Loki had dozed off in his reading chair, his book resting in his lap. Now, he got up, saved the volume from falling to the ground and approached the energy grid.

'Stand back,' a guard warned.

'Careful,' Loki said to him in a low voice. He made a gesture that meant nothing but looked impressive. '_Careful_.'

Thor entered the prisoner's restricted vision from the left side of the grid. 'Greetings, Loki. Is it your new style to intimidate guards?'

'How about you, Thor? Do you need your friends to back you up on unwelcome tasks?' Loki smiled icily as Sif, Volstagg, Fandral and Hogun stood beside Thor.

'They all own part of what you need,' Thor said. 'Marbles, from childhood days. It was their right to be present.'

Loki clasped his hands behind his back and cracked a forced smile. 'Seems that you've been quite free-handed with your possessions. Or, no – _wait._' He paused for emphasis and wrinkled his brow sorrowfully. 'Was that not supposed to be_ our_ possessions?'

'I only gave away my share,' Thor said smoothly like he had been expecting just that mockery. He produced a leather bag that was shiny with age. 'Yours, Sif and I have kept for you.'

A greedy look came into Loki's eyes.

'Can your spirit guest watch us from back there?' Thor asked.

'I am watching, crown prince of Asgard,' the locus amoenus confirmed.

Thor emptied the bag into Volstagg's cupped hands. From there, he counted the marbles back into the bag.

'Thirty-nine,' the locus amoenus confirmed, when the warrior's hands were empty once more. 'Three are missing.'

'They cannot be retrieved. I remember losing them on the shore of your lake,' Thor said. 'We had to take Loki home urgently. I could not stay to look for for them.'

'I don't have them either,' the spirit said. 'I am sorry. The bargain is unfulfilled.'

'Unfulfilled?' rumbled Volstagg, before Thor could hinder him. 'You've got thirty-nine out of forty-two marbles.'

'Three missing. Exactly.'

Fandral scratched his head, 'What are we supposed to do, dig up the shore?'

'No point in that,' Loki cut in suddenly. 'You won't find them.'

Hogun said, 'And you know this for sure, because...?'

Loki shrugged nonchalantly. 'I took them.'

'You?' asked Thor. 'But when?_ How?_'

Loki spun round, as if merely hearing the thunderer's voice was causing the imprisoned tricker's temper to flare up, 'You've always been a lousy caretaker of things. They lay in the sand, forgotten. Left to be buried and lost forever. I picked them up.'

'Which, of course, was much better than losing them in the sand,' Thor replied. 'Losing them to your pocket.'

'They should've been mine from the beginning,' Loki spat. 'Odin had no reason to entrust them to you. He should've known better than that.'

'So it was your fault we could never again play a decent game of "Catch the Wolf",' Thor accused him. 'Because, _as you well know_, it takes forty-two marbles.'

'A game I never enjoyed playing, _as you will remember_,' Loki said, mimicking Thor's intonation. 'So, _why_ should I care, if you had what you needed?'

'All these years,' Volstagg said, deeply shocked. 'All these years he prevented us from playing "Catch the Wolf". Just so we had to think of other games that were more to his taste to join in...'

'Oh, it was not just me,' Loki said triumphantly. '_Sif_ was never fond of it, either.'

'Hey!' exclaimed Sif.

'Sif?' asked Thor. 'You were his complice on this?'

'I _loved _you,' Fandral moaned.

'She said it,' Loki declared, upping the ante although it seemed to break his heart.

'Can I,' Sif said coolly, 'just deactivate the energy grid and kill him, please, Thor?'

'Loki,' Hogun said into the babel of excited voices. 'Where are they now? The marbles you picked up?'

'Are you serious?' Loki frowned. 'That was almost nine-hundred years ago.'

'You don't remember?' Hogun pressed.

'Hmm, - _nnnno_. No, I don't.' Loki shook his head in a sardonic way that left no doubt what he thought about having to waste his time answering silly questions.

The friends exchanged looks.

'Well, _we_ remembered...' Fandral said.

'We got those marbles as presents from Thor,' Sif said. 'That's what made them memorable, in the first place. But Loki stopped caring once they had come into his possession.'

'They've always been this way to each other, those two. And especially Loki.' Volstagg sighed as if "those two" were not present.

'Let me make a suggestion,' the locus amoenus said. 'It seems those marbles will never be restored to their original number. But I might be contented with another secret.'

'Oh, _good heavens_,' complained Loki and rolled his eyes.

Thor gestured for silence.

'Well, Loki...' He looked at his brother. 'We did our part to try and help you in your predicament. Now, it's up to you. How many secrets can the famous silver tongue relate, if required?'

'Oh no. Surely, you're not serious.' Loki returned to his reading chair and made a point of sitting down and crossing his legs. 'I won't have Thanos roast my brains with unfathomable, cosmical knowledge just to go blabbing it to an Asgardian swamp spirit as the next opportunity presented itself.'

'But no-one's talking about cosmical knowledge,' Sif said, looking from one comrade to the other for consent. '_Three marbles._ How secret does the secret have to be?'

Loki studied the ceiling overhead like he had not noticed it up to now and was utterly surprised to find it there. It was clear that he was not prepared to answer any more silly questions tonight.

It didn't stop anyone from asking them, of course.

'What are we going to do? Fandral asked, clearly at a loss. 'Confine Loki back in the catacombs, until he comes up with something he deems harmless enough to share?'

'Spare me,' said Sif. 'We've all seen last time what he'll "come up with", when he's down there and left to his own devices...'

* * *

**(**###** Asgard, almost 1,000 years ago**###**)**

Another boy finding a skeleton's hand holding on to his ankle would probably have been mortally scared.

Not so Loki.

Bones, to him, were something quite natural; everyone had them, including himself. And when he died, his bones would remain and take their own turn at scaring stupid, uneducated children.

No, Loki's thoughts flew ahead: This appeared to be the ghost miner's secret. His reason for being stuck in this corridor, unable to leave this place. Mortal remains sometimes did that kind of thing, tie the soul to the realm of the living forever, or at least until they had withered away. Loki wondered whether he could sell this knowledge to the locus amoenus, to get rid of his debt to the malevolent spirit.

The skeletal hand moved.

Since the place was so cold, what with all the ice and him only wearing a thin night gown, Loki felt the alarm run down his spine like a sizzling hot wave. He broke into a run, but lost his balance when the gravel slipped and moved under his feet. The stones shifted, some falling down, rolling and jumping on the ground. In the end, they revealed a fleshless skull. It had no eyes. And only a dried-up tongue sitting in its jaw.

With it, the ghost voice said, '_Your light, boy._'

Loki yelped and ran. He made it as far as the tunnel. There, he tripped on the frozen ground. _Save the lantern!_ He did, but barely so and at the cost of his balance. A searing pain shot into his ankle and up to his knee. His leg gave way under him; he could not stand. Every attempt to put weight to his foot triggered a repetition of that same excruciating pain. He dragged himself to the wall, put down the light and clutched his injured foot.

Gravel clanked and rumbled.

A bony hand searched purchase on the ground and started to haul itself forward, out of the mess of stones. The arm followed, elbow bone, radial bone clearly discernible. Then, a shoulder. The other hand joined in the effort. Finally, the eyeless head emerged.

Loki started to scream, frantically. He didn't realize he was yelling his brother's name – and neither would he have cared.

He did, however, realize that his desperate effort was being answered, 'Loki? Is that you?' his brother's voice asked, traveling through the maze.

Whether it was a dream or just another hungry monster trying to fool him, Loki was absolutely prepared and willing to take his chances.

His message was summed up easily, '_THOR! Help me! Hurry!_'

+++End of Chapter 4+++


End file.
